Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), a state-owned maker of defence equipment, said on Monday that the Union Ministry of Defence has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the purchase of 156 light combat helicopters. Ninety of the 156 light combat helicopters will be acquired by the Indian Army, while the other 66 will be supplied to the Indian Air Force.

?In terms of Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, we would like to inform you that the Ministry of Defence has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the procurement of 156 light combat helicopters (90 nos. for IA and 66 nos. for IAF),? Hindustan Aeronautics stated in a stock exchange filing.

Tejas aircraft
The Indian aerospace firm received a tender from the defence government in April of this year for the purchase of 97 light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1A) Tejas for the Indian Air Force. Both offensive air support missions and air combat employ the Tejas planes. The LCA Mk-1A's secondary functions are said to include reconnaissance and anti-ship missions.

The estimated cost of the fighter aircraft is Rs. 670 billion. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the purchase of 97 more Tejas aircraft for the Indian Air Force in November. The IAF's plan to modernise Hindustan Aeronautics' Su-30 fighter force was also accepted by the Council.

Dhruv Mk-III helicopter
A contract for Rs 80 billion was inked in March by the Union defence ministry and HAL to purchase 34 indigenous advanced light helicopters for the Indian Army and Coast Guard. The Indian Army had 25 of the 34 Dhruv Mk-III helicopters, while the Coast Guard operated the other nine.